Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan today said that the Union Government is giving priority to Research and Development in the country and considers it as an industry. He was speaking after inaugurating the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati's North-East Research Conclave (NERC). The Minister said that this Conclave will showcase the best research initiatives from educational and research institutions across the North East region. It will also play a catalytic role in promoting innovation and entrepreneurship including encouraging development of indigenous technologies for sustainable development.<br />''<br />''Mr Pradhan said, the North Eastern states have the potential to play the pivotal role as they have abundant natural resources and urged the youths to dedicate themselves for research works in diverse fields to provide solutions for the needs of the country and the world. He said, the Advance Health Innovation Institute (AAHII) which will usher a new era of health care and medical research in this region.<br />''<br />''Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that research and development (R&D) is very crucial for a fast developing nation like India and in a progressive society R&D has always been considered as a fundamental building block. The R&D plays critical role in the process of innovation and expending the knowledge.<br />''<br />''Mr Sarma informed that the Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) which is signed between IIT, Guwahati and Government of Assam in presence of the Union Education Minister to set up the Assam Advance Health Innovation Institute (AAHII) in the IIT campus will be a game changer in the history of Assam as it will turn Assam into a hot bed of innovations in medical devices. He also informed that the AAHII will be a 350-bedded multi-speciality hospital and it will also provide PG courses including Ph.D. The main focus of the AAHII will be on artificial intelligence, molecular biology and stem cell therapy, he said.<br />''<br />''Union Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways and AYUSH Sarbananda Sonowal addressing the event said that the entire North Eastern states can become the new engine of growth for the entire country and this type of conclave will encourage the youth to do R&D.<br />''The three-day NERS-2022 Conclave seeks to create a common interface for interaction of Academic and industry personnel in the North-East India and hosting close to 3,000 eminent personalities from these states as well as the other parts of India. It is organised to showcase the best Research and Development activities from all the educational and research institutions across the states of North East India. NERC-2022 is also working towards creating an environment conducive to development of local indigenous technologies and innovations.<br />''The Union Minister for Education also inaugurated the third edition of the Assam Biotech Conclave-2022 at IIT, Guwahati in the afternoon.<br />''MoS for Education Dr. Subash Sarkar, Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh and MoS for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Rameswar Teli and several other dignitaries were present on the occasion.<br />''<br />''<br />